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THE NATIONAL SECURITY AND 
THE NATIONAL FAITH; 

GUARANTEES FOR THE MTIONAl FREEBIAN AND 
THE NATIONAL CREDITOR, 



SPEECH 

OF 

HON. CHARLES SUMNER, 

AT THE 

REPUBLICAN STATE CONVENTION, 

IK WORCESTEK, 
SEPTEMBER 14r, 1865. 



BOSTON: 

WRIGHT & POTTER, PRINTERS, 4 SPRING LANE. 
1865. 




SPEECH. 



Fellow-Citizens : 

Called to preside over this annual Convention, where are brought 
together the intelligence, the heart and the conscience of Massachusetts, 
God bless her ! I begin by asking you to accept my thanks. Gladly 
vrould I leave this post of honor to another; but I obey your will, 
In all I have to say I must speak frankly. What has with me become 
a habit is at this moment more than ever a duty. Who can see peril to 
his country, and not cry out? Who can see that good ship, which 
carries the Republic and its fortunes, driving directly upon a lee-shore, 
and not shout to the pilot, " Mind your helm ? " Apologies or rounda- 
bout phrases are out of place when danger threatens. 

Emancipation not Complete, so long as the Black Code 

EXISTS. 

When last I addressed my fellow-citizens on public affairs, at the 
close of the late Presidential election, as we were about to vote for 
Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, I undertook to show the abso- 
lute identity between Slavery and the Rebellion, so that one could not 
end without the other. As I finished that address, I said to friends 
near me, that it was " my last Anti-Slavery speech." I so thought at 
the time; for I anticipated the speedy downfall of the RebelHon, 
carrying with it Slavery. I was mistaken. Neither the Rebellion or 
Slavery is yet ended. The Rebellion has been disarmed ; but that is 
all. Slavery has been abolished in name ; but that is all. As there is 
still a quasi Rebellion, so is there still a quasi Slavery. The work of 
liberation is not yet completed. Nor can it be completed until the Equal 
Rights of every person, once claimed as a slave, are placed under the 
safeguard of irreversible guarantees. It is not enough to strike down 
the master; you must also lift up the slave. It is not enough to 
declare Emancipation. The whole Black Code, which is the supple- 
ment of Slavery, must give place to that Equality before the law, 
which is the very essence of Liberty. It is an old principle of the 
common law, recognized by all our courts, as announced by Lord Coke, 
that " where the law granteth anything to any one, that also is granted, 
without which the thing itself cannot be." So also where a piece 
of land is granted, which is shut in by the possessions of the grantor, a 
right of xoay is implied from common justice and the necessity of the 



case. And then again, where the reason of a law ceases, the law itself 
ceases. So, also, where the principal falls to the ground, the incident 
falls also. But all these unquestionable principles are fatal to the Black 
Code. The Liberty that has been granted " cannot be " if the Black 
Code exists. The piece of land that has been granted, is useless with- 
out that right of way which is stopped up by the Black Code. The 
reason for the Black Code is Slavery ; and with the cessation of the 
reason, the whole Black Code itself must cease also. The Black Code 
is the incident of Slavery, and it must fall with its principal. Unless 
this is accomplished, you will keep the word of promise to the ear and 
break it to the sense. You will imitate those cruel quibbles, of which 
history makes mention, where, by subtle equivocations, faith has been 
violated. You will do little better than the Turk, who stipulated with 
a certain person that his head should be safe, and straightway proceeded 
to cut him in two at the middle ; or than those false Greeks who, after 
promising to restore their captives, kept their promise by restoring them 
dead. 

Slavery begins by denying the right of a man to himself; and the 
Black Code fortifies this denial by its cruel exclusions. Every freed- 
man must be secured in this right by his admission to the full panoply 
of citizenship. Slavery sets at naught the relation of husband and 
wife. Every freedman must be able to call his wife his own. Slavery 
sets at naught the parental relation. Every freedman must be able to 
call his child his own. Slavery shuts the gates of knowledge. Every 
freedman must be assured in all the privileges of education. Slavery 
takes from its victim the hard-earned fruits of his toil. Every freed- 
man must be protected in his industry. Slavery denies justice to the 
colored man by cruelly rejecting his testimony. Every freedman must 
enter the courts freely, as witness or as party. Until all this is done, 
in every particular, and beyond possibility of question, it is vain to say 
that Emancipation has been secured. The good work is only half done. 
It must be continued to its assui'ed consummation, under the powerful 
auspices of the United States. That same National authority which 
began it must take care that the good work is maintained and com- 
pleted, in letter and in spirit, everywhere throughout the rebel States, — 
in conventions of the people, — in legislative assemblies, — in courts, — in 
the city, — in the country, — in streets, — on highways, — on by-ways, — in 
retired places, — on plantations, — in houses, — so that no man shall be 
despoiled of any of his rights, but all shall be Equal before the law. 

Lesson from Russian Emancipation. 
There is a glorious instance in our own day, which is an example for 
us, when the Emperor of Russia, by a Proclamation, fulfilling the aspi- 
rations of his predecessors, set free twenty-three millions of serfs, and 
then completed his work by supplementary provisions investing the freed- 
men with civil and political rights, including the right to testify in court; 
the right of suffrage ; and the right to hold office. I have in my hand 
this immortal Proclamation, dated at St. Petersburg, 19th February, 
1861 ; promulgated amidst prayers and thanksgivings in all the churches 
of the national capital, and at once expedited to every part of the widely- 
extended empire by generals and stuff officers of the Emperor himself. 
Here it is, in an official document entitled Affranchissement des Serfs, 



and issued at St. Petersburpj. After reciting that the earlier measures 
in behalf of the serfs had failed, because they had been left to " the 
spontaneous initiative of tlie proprietors," the Emperor proceeds to 
take the work in hand as a sacred legacy from his ancestors, and 
declares the serfs, after an interval of two years, " entirely enfran- 
chised." Meanwhile, that nothing might fail, "a special court" for 
serfs was created in each province, charged with the organization of 
local governments, the adjustment of boundaries, and generally to 
superintend the transition from the Old to the New, with "justices 
of the peace " in each district, to examine on the spot all questions aris- 
ing from Emancipation. Had the work stopped here, it would have 
been incomplete. It woidd have been only half done. But no such 
fatal mistake was made.* 

Accompanying the Proclamation, are supplementary provisums, called 
"regulations," prepared with inlinite care, and divided into chapters and 
sections — occupying no less than ninety-one pages in double columns and 
small type — by which the rights of the freedmen are secured beyond ques- 
tion. Beginning with the declaration that the freedmen " acquire the rights 
belonging to the condition of free farmers," tliey then proceed in formal 
words to fix and assure their rights, civil and political. By one section, 
it is provided that " the articles of the Civil Code on the rights and obli- 
gations of the family, are extended to the freedmen ; that consequently 
they acquire the right, without the authorization of the proprietor, to 
contract marriage, and to make any arrangement whatever concerning 
their family affixirs ; that they can equally enter into all agreements 
and obligations authorized by the laws, as well with the State as with 
individuals, on the conditions established for free farmers ; that they can 
inscribe themselves in the guilds, and exercise their trades in the vil- 
lages ; and they can found and conduct factories and establishments of 
commerce." Another section secures to the freedmen the right of acquir- 
ing and alienating property of all kinds, according to the general law, and 
besides, guarantees, on certain conditions, ^' the possession of their home- 
steads," with the grounds appurtenant. Another section secures to the 
freedmen complete Equality in the courts, with " the right of action, 
whether civilly or criminally, to commence process, and to answer jier- 
sonally or by attorney ; to make complaint, and to defend their rights 
by all the means known to the law, and to appear as witnesses and as 
bail, conformably to the common law." Other sections secure to the 
freedmen Equality in political rights, by providing that " on the organ- 
ization of the towns, they shall be entitled to take part in the meetings 
and elections for the towns, and to vote on town affairs, and to exercise 
divers functions ; " that they shall also " take part in the assemblies for 
the district, and shall vote on district affairs, and choose the chaii'man," 
and generally enjoy all rights to choose their local officers and to be 
chosen in turn. And still another section authorizes the freedmen " to 
place their children in the establishments for public education, to em- 
brace the career of instruction, or the scientific career, or to take ser- 

* At this stage of his speech Mr. Sumner called attention to M. Kapnist, a 
Eussian gentleman belonging to the Chancery of the Emperor, who was on 
the platforna. The allusion was received by the Convention with applause, 
which M. Kapnist acknowledged by rising and bowing. 



vice in the corps of surveyors." And it is further provided, that they 
" cannot lose their rights or be restrained in their exercise, except after 
judgment of the town, according to fixed rules." And still further, 
that they " cannot be subjected to any punishment, otherwise than by 
virtue of a judgment, or according to the legal decision of the town to 
which they belong." Such are the safeguards by which Emancipation 
in Russia has been completed and assured. Such is the lesson of the 
great Empire to the great Republic. 

Duty of Massachusetts. 
In asking that we shall do likewise, I follow the plain suggestions of 
reason, whether we regard the interest of the freedman or our own. 
But justice to the freedman is now intimately linked with the national 
security. Be just, and the Republic will be strong. Be just, and you 
will erect a barrier against the Rebellion. On this question Massachu- 
setts has a duty to perform. Now, as in times past, her place is in the 
front. You will not, I trust, be disturbed by criticism, even if it become 
invective. Throughout the long conflict with Slavery, and the earlier 
conflict with the mother country, Massachusetts has become accustomed 
to hard words, and, even at a more ancient day, as far back in colonial 
history as 1691, we find an ill-tempered critic, with a strange jumble of 
metaphors, crying out against our fathers, " All the frame of heaven 
moves upon one axis, and the whole of New England interest seems 
designed to be loaden on one bottom and her particular motion to be 
concentric to the Massachusetts tropic. You know who are wont to trot 
after the Bay horse." If others trot after the Bay horse, it is simply 
because Massachusetts means always to keep on the right road, and, by 
unerring instinct, knows the way. Error proceeds oftener from igno- 
rance than from malice. Obviously, at this moment, the great difficulty 
is that people do not see clearly what ought to be done. 

National vSecuritt. 
Fellow-citizens, as peace seems about to smile on our country, con- 
vulsed by most cruel and costly war, there is one simple duty on 
which all can unite when it is understood. It is the duty expressed in 
at least one part of the familiar saying, " Indemnity for the past and 
security for the future." Indemnity, alas ! we can never have. Who 
can repay the millions of lost treasure ? Who can repair the shattered 
and mutilated forms that have been returned from the battle with 
Slavery? Who can recall the dead ? Indemnity we renounce. There 
are no scales on earth in which it can be weighed. There are no possible 
accumulations of wealth which would not be exhausted before its first 
instalment was counted out. But no such difficulty can occur in adjusting 
our security for the future. And the very vastness of our sacrifice is 
an irresistible reason why this should be fixed beyond question, so that 
the terrible judgment shall not visit us again. Indemnity we renounce ; 
but security we will have. This is the one thing needful. This is the 
charity which embraces all other charities. This is the pivot of the 
national Hereafter. This is at once the corner-stone and the key-stone 
of that reconstructed Union, to which we look for tranquil peace and 
reconciliation. There are none so high, and there are none so low, as not 



to be concerned in obtaining tbis security, for witliout it all tbat we bold 
most dear will be in jeopardy. Witlioiit security agriculture and coinmcroe 
must languisb and die ; witbout security tbe vvliole country must be 
impoverisbed in its resources, wbile tbe ricb become poor and tbe poor 
become poorer ; witbout security rights of property aud rigbts of person 
will lose their value ; and witbout security the Union, justice, domestic 
tranquillity, tbe common defence, tbe general welliire, and th(; blessings 
of Liberty, for which tbe Constitution was ordained and established, must 
all fail ! What is government, or country, or home, or life itself, with- 
out security ? 

National Faith. 
There is another object, kindred to security, or, perhaps, embraced in 
security ; and tbat is the national faith. This too must be placed beyond 
cavil or even " sus])icion." No nation can be powerful enough to disre- 
gard tbis sacred bond. Character, fame, and prosperity itself are all 
dependent upon its observance. But tbe national faith is solemnly 
engaged, first, to tbe national freedmen, and secondly, to tbe national 
creditors. No undertaking can be more complete and inviolable because 
it constituted the consideration for those services and supplies by which 
tbe life of the Republic has been preserved. Tbe national faith is 
pledged to the national freedmen, not only by tbe act of Emancipa- 
tion, M'hich, in its very essence and fi-om the nature of the case, is a 
" warranty of title," but also by tbe plain and positive promises of the 
Proclamation, tbat they " are and henceforward shall be free, and that 
tbe Executive government of the United States, including the military 
and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom 
of such persojis." Words could not be more binding, and the 
history of their introduction testifies to their significance and efficacy. 
They were not in tbe original draft by President Lincoln, "ijut were 
inserted, at tbe suggestion of Mr. Seward, wlien the Proclamation was 
read to tbe Cabinet; and there they stand without any limitation of 
place or time, binding tbis Republic in its national character, through 
its Executive, including tbe military and naval authority, not only to 
recognize, but to maintain the freedom of tbe emancipated slave ; and 
this is to be done, not in any special locality, but everywhere, and not 
for a day or a year, but for all time. Our obligation to tbe national 
creditors is of the same validity, approved by successive acts of Congress, 
ratified by tbe popular will, and fixed beyond recall by the actual enjoy- 
ment of those precious fruits for which tbe debt was incurred. Repudi- 
ation of our bonds, whether to tbe national creditors or to tbe national 
freedmen, would be a shame and a crime ; and the national faitii is 
irrevocably plighted to the two alike. Here is tbe Proclamation, and 
here is a Treasury Note. Look at the signatures and look at tbe 
terms. The former is signed by the President himself, Abraham Lin- 
coln ; the latter is signed by an unknown clerk, whose name I cannot 
decypher. Tbe former is stronger, and more positive in its terms, than 
the latter. The Treasury Note simply says ; " It is hereby certified 

that the United States are indebted unto bearer in the sum of 

$100, redeemable " after a certain date, and tbat " tbis debt is authorized 
by Act of Congress." Tbe binding terms of the Proclamation, which 
I have already read, are solemnly enforced by that memorable invoca- 



8 

tion at the close : " And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of 
justice warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity, I invoke 
the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty 
God." Thus religion comes to confirm the pledge with sanctions of its 
own. That pledge is as enduring as the Republic itself.* 

Such are the supreme objects now at heart — the National Security 
and the National Faith, or the two absorbed into one, Security for the 
Future. 

The Dikes of Holland. 
And here allow me to present an illustration, which, unless I mistake, 
will make our duty clear. You do not forget the immense and costly 
dikes, built by Holland against the sea ; but, perhaps, you may not call 
to mind their origin and importance. Before these embankments were 
constructed the whole country was in constant danger. At an early 
period there was an irruption which destroyed no less than forty-four 
villages, followed very soon by another which destroyed eighty tliousand 
lives. In the loth century there was still another which swept away 
one hundred thousand persons — a terrible sacrifice, even greater in 
proportion to the population of Holland at that time, than what we have 
been called to bear from the bloody irruption of slavery. At last the 
dikes were constructed as safeguards, and down to this day they are 
preserved at a large annual cost. Precautions of all kinds are super- 
added. A special corps of engineers, educated at Delft, is constantly 
employed in the work of renovation. Watchmen patrol the walls, and 
alarm bells are ready to ring. The gratitude of the people shows itself 
even to its unconscious protectors ; and the stork, which, resting here on 
his flight from Africa, destroys the vermin that weaken and sap the 
dikes, is held in veneration, so that to kill a stork is looked upon as little 
less than a crime. Such are some of the defences, by whicii Holland 
is guarded against danger from the sea. But how petty is her danger 
compared with ours ! We too must have our dikes, with engineers to 
keep them strong — with watchmen to patrol them — with alarm bells to 
ring ; and we too must have our storks to destroy the vermin that 
weaken and sap our embankments. 

Our Dikes are Guarantees. 
What shall be our defences ? How shall we guard against destruc- 
tive irruptions ? And where shall we establish our security for the 
future ? Our embankments must not be of earth. Walls of stone will 
not do. Towers, ramparts and buttresses will be impotent against our 
vindictive tide. The security we seek must be found in organic law 
with irreversible guarantees ; and these irreversible guarantees must be 
co-extensive with the danger. 

Elements of Danger. 
It becomes us, then, to consider carefully the elements of danger, — 
bearing in mind always that a danger clearly foreseen will not happen, 
unless prudence has ceased to prevail. These elements may be consid- 
ered in general and in detail. They may be considered in certain gen- 



eral influences, applicable to all our relations with the Rebellion, or in 
certain specific points, which obviously require specific guarantees. 

If we look at the rebel States generally, there is little to inspire 
trust. They rose against a paternal government simply for the sake of 
Slavery, plantiflg themselves upon two postulates furnished by John C. 
Calhoun — first, State rights ; and secondly, the alleged falsehood of our 
fathers, Avhcn, at the birth of our nation, they declared that all men are 
born equal. Since that early war when Satan ^ in proud rebellious arras, 
drew after him the third part of Heaven," nothing so utterly wicked 
has occurred. And the spirit of Satan entered into the Rebellion, and 
continued with it to the end. It was present on the battle-field. It was 
present in the treatment of Union prisoners. It was present in the 
piracies of the ocean. I know not that these devils have yet been cast 
out. I know not that any swine into which they have entered have 
rushed headlong into the sea. But I do know that, according to con- 
curring and unimpeachable testimony, from all quarters of the rebel 
States, — from North Carolina to Texas, — there is one sullen, defiant 
voice, which, in the very words of Satan when driven from the skies, 
thus speaks : — 

" What though the field be lost ? 
All is not lost ; the unconquerable will, 
And study of revenge, immortal hate, — 
And courage never to submit or yield. 
Since through experience of tliis great event, 
In arms not worse, in foresight much advanced, 
We may with more successful hope resolve 
To wage by force or guile eternal war, 
Irreconcilable to our grand foe." 

Such is their spirit. Grounding their arms, they now resort to other 
means. Cunning takes the place of war. As they precipitated them- 
selves out of the Union, they now seek to precipitate themselves back. 
A " wooden horse " is constructed, which is stuffed with hidden foes, 
and thus they seek to enter our Troy. Already the rattle of arms is 
heard, and ominous voices, as the treacherous engine is advanced. But 
beyond these sounds, there is the record of the past and the present. 
"Who does not know that the South is full of spirits, who have sworn un- 
dying hatred not only to the Union, but to reason itself, and whose policy 
is a perpetual conspiracy against the principles of our government ? 
Painful proofs come to demonstrate the prevailing frenzy. The freedmen 
are trodden down and the land is filled with tragedies. History stands 
aghast at the massacre of Glencoe in a retired Scotch valley, and our 
sympathies overflow at the murder of a solitary traveller by the merci- 
less Indians ; but these scenes are now repeated. The Barbarism of 
Slavery rages stilL The lash and the bloodhound are at large. Life is 
little, if it beats under a colored skin. Citizens in the national uni- 
form are insulted, mutilated, murdered — especially if they are in 
command of colored troops. And these criminals, besmeared with 
blood, and boiling with concentrated rage, now strive to envelop 
themselves in the immunities of State Independence, with two special 
objects in view : first, that they may deal with the freedmen as they 
please, without any check from the National authority ; and, secondly, 
that they may send a solid representation of more than eighty votes, 
pledged to Southern pretensions, which, in combination with treach- 



10 

erous votes from the North, may re-assert that ancient monopoly and 
masterdom under which the country suffered so long ; 

" and once more 
Erect the standard there of ancient night." • 

Reading the proceedings of the convention in Mississippi, we seem 
again to hear the very voice of Satan : 

" To claim our just inheritance of old, 
Whether by open war or covert guile, 
We now debate." 

One of their speakers said plainly, that " he was opposed to fighting 
the General Government or anybody else ; that he loas ready to submit 
to its wishes as he ivould to a higlnoay robber, ivhose poioer he was not able 
to resist." Another speaker, less frank, thought it policy to accept the 
present condition of affairs, until the control of the State is restored into 
the hands of its people, and " to submit /or a time to evils which cannot 
be remedied." And still another, much more wily, when urging a seem- 
ing acceptance of the Union, thus lured his brother conspirators : " If 
we act wisely we shall be joined by what is called the Copperhead party, 
and even by many of the Black Republicans." Such is the plot, and 
such is the disastrous alliance plainly foreshadowed. But, thank God! 
in encouraging his comrades the conspirator has warned us. Forewarned 
is forearmed. 

The National Debt Threatened. 

From all quarters comes the warning. " Trust not their presents, nor 
admit the horse!" The voice of the Grecian Sinon was not more treach- 
erous. From all quarters comes the testimony. Military officers return- 
ing from the South, public functionaries, intelligent travellers, loyal 
residents, each and all speak with one voice. By conversation and 
by letter I have gathered the proofs which are complete. Persons 
who have had peculiar opportunities unite in the report that the 
rebel spirit still prevails, — that the treatment of the freedmen is 
beastly, — and that the national debt is denounced. Two eminent 
gentlemen, whose official positions have made them familiar with public 
opinion in two different States, have expressed to me the conviction that 
there was not a single ex-rebel who would vote to pay the interest on the 
national debt. A trustworthy traveller, who has just visited Louisiana, 
Mississippi, and Alabama, with which he was already familiar, writes 
me : " The former masters exhibit a most cruel, remorseless, and vin- 
dictive spii'it towards the colored people. In parts where there are no 
Union soldiers, I saw colored women treated in the most outrageous 
manner. They have no rights that are respected. They are killed, and 
their bodies thiown into ponds or mud-holes. They are mutilated by 
having ears and noses cut off." A loyalist from Texas writes : " What 
we of the South fear is, that President Johnson's course will, by its pre- 
cipitancy, enable the old set to re-organize themselves into place and 
power. For Heaven's sake preserve us, if you can, from this calamity." 
A loyal resident of North Carolina thus writes : " I tell you, sir, the only 
difference now and one year ago is that the flag is acknowledged as 



11 

supreme, and there is some fear manifested, and they have no arm?. 
The sentiment is the same. If anjthing otherwise, more liatred exists 
towards the government. I know there is more toivards Union men, both 
hlach and lohilg" It is natural that sueh a people should already talk 
of repudiating the national debt. Here is a bit on this vital point. A 
young man in gray was asked, " Would it be safe to trust white men at 
the South with the power to repudiate the national debt ? " To which 
he replied at once: "Repudiate! I should hope they would. I'm 
whipped, and I'll own it ; but I'm not so fond of a whipping that I'm 
going to pay a man's expenses while he gives it to me. Of course, there 
are not ten men in the whole South that wouldn't repudiate ! " Thus 
spoke the rebel uniform. But here are the grave words of a candidate 
for Congress in Virginia, in his address to the people : — 

"I am opposed to the Southern States being taxed at all for the redemption 
of this debt, either directly or indirectly; and, if elected to Congress, I will 
oppose all such measures, and I will vote to repeal all laws that have heretofore 
heen passed for that jjurpose ; and, in doing so, I do not consider that I violate 
any obligation to which the Soutli was a party. We have never plighted our 
faith for the redemption of the war debt. The people will be borne down with 
taxes for years to come, even if the war debt is repudiated. It will be the duty 
of the government to support the maimed and disabled soldiers, and this will 
be a great expense ; and, if the United States Government requires the South 
to be taxed for the support of Union soldiers, we sliould insist that all disabled 
soldiers should be maintained by the United States Government, without regard 
to the side they had taken in the war." 

Irreversible Guarantees. 
Again, I say, forewarned is forearmed. Surely there can be no limits 
to our resistance when such spirits are seeking to capture the National 
Government ; but beyond that general resistance, which must make us 
postpone the day of surrender, and invoke the protection of Congress, 
we must insist upon special guarantees in the organic law. 

I. — The Unity of the Republic. 
(1.) As the Rebellion began with the pretension that a State might 
withdraw from the Union, it is plain that the Unity of the RepuUic must 
be affirmed — not indirectly but directly ; not as in Mississippi, by simply 
declaring the late act of secession null and void ; but, as in Missouri, where 
the relations of the State to the Union are thus frankly stated : " That 
this State shall ever remain a member of the American Union ; that the 
people thereof are a part of the American Nation ; that every citizen 
owes paramount allegiance to the Constitution and Government of the 
United States ; and that no law or ordinance of this State, in contraven- 
tion or subversion thereof, can have any binding force." In contrast 
with this plain renunciation, the proceedings of Mississippi have no more 
certainty than the common saying, " Large as a piece of chalk." As 
security for the future, they are nothing — absolutely nothing. And per- 
mit me to say, that the whole Convention, so far as we have been informed, 
was little better than a rebel conspiracy to obtain political power. 

II. — Enfranchisement. 
(2.) As the Rebellion was waged in denial of the Equal Rights of the 
colored race, it is essential not only that Slavery should be renounced, 



12 

but also that all men should be hailecl as equal before the law, and this 
enfranchisement must be both civil and political. Unless this is done, the 
condition of the freedman will be most deplorable. Exposed to all man- 
ner of brutality, he will not be heard as a witness against his oppressor. 
Compelled to pay taxes, he will be excluded from all representation in 
the government. Without this security, Emancipation is illusory. It is 
a jack-a-lantern, which the poor slave will pursue in vain. Even if 
Slavery cease to exist, it will give place to another condition hardl}'^ less 
galling. There will be serfdom, apprenticeship, peonage or some other 
device of Slavery. According to the poet, there are different " circles " 
in hell, each with its own terrible torments, and the unhappy African 
will only escape from one of these into another. And all this will be 
beyond correction or remedy, if not at the outset guarded against by 
organic law. 

III. — The National Debt. 
(3.) As the national debt was incurred for the suppression of the 
Eebellion, this too must be fixed beyond repeal. Unless this is done, it 
is evident, from reason as well as from testimony, that the representa- 
tives of the rebel States will coalesce with others for its repudiation. 
Mississippi, which leads in the present effort to capture the national 
capital, is the original author of repudiation. Out of the legislative 
halls of this State the monster sprang. There was its birth. It will be 
simply true to its past history, as well as to its pi'esent animosities, when 
this State leads in the repudiation of the national debt. Nothing short 
of madness will allow it any such opportunity. No rebel State should 
be re-admitted unless bound irrevocably to the support of the national 
debt and the payment of the interest thereon. 

IV. — Assumption of the Rebel Debt must be Forbidden. 
(4.) The assumjytion of the rebel debt must be positively forbidden. 
Already ex-rebels insist upon its payment. Such voices come from 
Mississippi and Virginia. Ex-rebel newspapers, whose editors have 
taken the oath of allegiance, uphold this debt. But Congress has already 
led the way in denouncing it. For a State to assume this criminal 
obligation would be oppressive to the people, and especially to the freed- 
men. It would be a drain upon the resources of the State. It would 
be an insult to the whole country. This debt, whether at home or 
abroad, has been incurred for the support of the Rebellion and must be 
treated accordingly. It is a part of the crime. Here too there must be 
a guarantee. 

V. — National Peace and Tranquillity, through Impartial 

Suffrage. 
(5.) As the national peace and tranquillity depend essentially upon 
the overthrow of monopoly and tyranny, here is another occasion for a 
special guarantee against the whole pretension of color. No rebel State 
can be re-admitted with this controversy still raging, and ready to break 
forth. So long as it continues the land will refuse its increase. Agri- 
culture and business of all kinds will be uncertain, and the country 
will be handed over to a fearful struggle with the terrors of St. Domingo 
to darken the prospect. In shutting out the freedman from his equal 



13 

rights at the ballot-box, you open the doors of discontent and insurrection. 
Cavaignac, the patriotic President of the French Republic, met the 
present case, when, speaking for France, he said : " I do not believe 
repose possible, either in the present or the future, except so far as you 
found your political condition on universal suffrage, loyally, sincerely, 
completely accepted and observed." {Moniteur, 21 May, 18;50, p. 17G1.) 
It is only impartial suffrage that I claim, without distinction of color, so 
that there shall be one equal rule for all men. And this too must be 
placed under the safeguard of constitutional law. 

VI. — Education of the People. 

(G.) As the Education of the people is essential to the national wel- 
fare, and especially to the development of those principles of justice 
and morality which constitute the only sure foundation of a " republican 
government," and as, according to the census, an immense proportion of 
the people of the rebel States, without distinction of color, cannot read 
and write, it is obvious that public schools must be established for the 
equal good of all. The example of Massachusetts must be followed, 
which, after declaring in its Constitution that " wisdom and knowledge, 
as well as virtue, diffused generally among the body of the people, are 
necessary for the preservation of their rights and liberties," proceeds to 
direct the legislature and magistrates, in all future periods, " to cherish 
the interests of literature and the sciences," and especially " public 
schools and grammar schools in the towns." All this must enter into 
our work of reconstruction, and become one of our guarantees. 

Necessity of these Guarantees. 
Such are the six capital subjects of special guarantee : the unity of the 
Republic ; the national obligations to the national freedmen ; the national 
obligations to the national creditors ; the rejection of the rebel debt ; 
the establishment of national peace and tranquillity, so that it cannot 
be disturbed by any monopoly and tyranny founded on color ; and 
'lastly, the education of the people. All these are too important, too 
transcendent, to be left to the transient will of recent rebels, always 
ready to be excited ; nor can they be left to any vague promise or 
inference of any kind. They must be fixed in characters clear as the 
sky, and firm as the earth itself. Not to require this protection is 
unpardonable weakness. " If Philip dies," said the Athenian orator, 
" you will soon raise another Philip ; since it is not so much by his own 
power, as by your carelessness, that he grew to such greatness;" and 
so do I say now, even if the Rebellion is dead, you will soon raise 
another, unless you learn to be wise. Believe me, that man is dan- 
gerous who does not see danger in this rebel Oligarchy, now conspiring 
to hoist itself into power. 

Power to establish Guarantees. 
Therefore, I lay down one undeniable, essential principle — that these 
guarantees must be established; and I appeal to my fellow-citizens 
throughout the country to insist upon them. As they concern the 
National Security and the National Faith, it is clear that they should 
be established by the Nation. The object is national. The power to 



14 

establish them Is national also. It is a part of that great, instinctive 
right of self-defence, common to nations and to men, which has no Hmits, 
except in the benign constraints of a Christian civilization. It is a right 
not only from the Constitution of the United States, but also from the 
constitution of civil society itself. There is no nation without it. In 
the weakest it is as manifest as in the mightiest. Never before was the 
occasion for its exercise plainer. And who shall say that the Nation 
may defend itself on the murderous battle-field, and may not, when the 
battle has been won, require that " Security for the Future," which is 
the declared object of war ? 

Do you ask where in the Constitution this unquestionable power is to 
be found ? I answer, in the same clause where you find the power to 
raise armies, and hurl them upon the rebel enemy ; in the same clause 
where you find the power to erect fortifications, bastions, and bulwai'ks 
for the national defence ; in the same clause where you find the power 
to incur the national debt for the national defence ; and also in the same 
clause where President Lincoln found the power to emancipate the 
slave. It is a National power for the protection of the Nation, and it 
may be exercised to any extent needed. It is idle to say that the war 
is over, and, therefore, the power is suspended. In one sense the war 
is over, and in another it is not. Battles have ceased ; but " Security 
for the Futin-e " has not yet been obtained, and this security is found 
only in irreversible guarantees. 

This national power is at this moment in full operation, and as com- 
pletely constitutional as the power to raise armies. It assumes for 
the present purpose two forms : first, the power to hold military posses- 
sion of the rebel States, so long as is required for security, whether 
months or years ; and, secondly, the power to affix the terms of peace 
and restoration. As it is idle to say that the war is over, so it is equally 
idle to say that this power, in either of its forms, is limited by the Con- 
stitution. This same mistake was made by James Buchanan, when, at 
the beginning of the Rebellion, he weakly declared, that, under the 
Constitution, he could not " coerce a State," and his Cabinet assented to 
the fatal pretension. God forbid that now, at another moment not less 
critical, this same pretension should triumph again. Of course all 
patriots now see how the golden opportunity was lost at first. May no 
such golden opportunity be lost again ! Nobody now doubts that a 
State in rebellion may be "coerced." Nobody now doubts that the 
victories of Grant, the march of Sherman, aud the charge of Sheridan 
were strictly constitutional. But this " coercion " must endure just so 
long as may be needed to obtain " Security for the Future," — it may be 
for months or it may be for years. There is no argument for it at the 
beginning which is not equally strong for it now. There is nothing in 
the Constitution against it. Everything in the Constitution is for it. 
The rules or limitations which the Constitution may establish for a 
condition of peace are entirely in applicable to a condition of Rebellion 
in any of its stages, whether at its beginning, its middle or its end. 
Whatever is needed for the suppression of the Rebellion and the estab- 
lishment of safeguards against its recurrence is constitutional. It is the 
failure to exercise this power which is unconstitutional. 

But beyond this ample power, there are two other powers in 
the Constitution, by virtue of which all needful guarantees can be 



15 

secured. The first is tiiat vast untried power under the clause of the 
Constitution, declaring that " tlie United States shall guarantee to every 
State a republican form of government." This power, long dormant, 
sprang at once into activity with the acts of secession. Loyal govern- 
ment being overthrown in fact, so that the whole region was like an 
"empty slate," it became the duty of the National autliority to set up 
loyal governments, and at the same time to see that they were " repub- 
lican in form," which must mean at least that they are governments of 
the majority, and not of the minority ; and I thinlv I cannot err, if I 
add, that, according to the fundamental principles of the Declaration of 
Independence, they must be founded on the Equal Rights of all men 
and the " consent of the governed." It is very clear that in tliis clause 
of guarantee there is an inexhaustible power, by virtue of which the 
National authority can not only exact all needful guarantees, but can 
mould these rebel communities according to the model of a Christian 
Commonwealth. 

There is still another source of power under the Constitution ; and 
this is according to the analogies of the territories. Since all loyal 
government has ceased to exist, the whole region, in all its divisions and 
sub-divisions, has, from the necessltij of the case, lapsed under the 
National jurisdiction, which is as complete for all practical purposes as 
that same jurisdiction over the District of Columbia. 

But I do not stop to dwell on these sources of power. Elsewhere I 
have vindicated them, and I have never been answered, except by the 
phrase that a State cannot go out of the Union, as if, in presence of the 
fact of rehelUon, this was anything more than a phrase. It is indisputable 
that, in point of fact, the rebel States have ceased to be, as President 
Lincoln expressed it, " in practical relations with the Union," and still 
further that they have long been without any government, which we 
can recognize. Surely this is enough to open the door to the National 
authority. When loyal government ceased, the jurisdiction of the 
National government began, whether military or civil, and this juris- 
diction still continues, complete in all respects, without any hindrance or 
limitation from the Constitution. 

Thus, out of three inexhaustible fountains may the National govern- 
ment derive its authority ; first, from the War Powers, which do not 
expire except with the establishment of " Security for the Future ; " 
secondly, from the injunction to guarantee a Republican form of govern- 
ment, which is at once a power and a duty ; and, thirdly, from the 
necessity of the case, as with outlying territories, which have no other 
government. Under each and all of these powers the guarantees can 
be obtained. 

Peactical Points. — Wats not to obtain Guarantees. 

In obtaining these guarantees there are certain practical points which 
must not be disregarded. Knowing what we need and satisfied with 
regard to the powers of the National government, the path will be easy. 
As there are ways to obtain guarantees, so, also, there are ways not to 
obtain them. 

And, first, of the ways not to obtain them. 

(1.) Irreversible guarantees cannot be obtained by haste. No State 
must be precipitated back to the Union. Precipitation back will be 



16 

hardly less fatal than that original precipitation which plunged the 
country into the abyss of war. When a State is re-admitted, it becomes 
practically independent. Therefore prudence, care and watchfulness 
will be needed to see that the National interests are not imperilled by 
any sudden transformation. 

(2.) Irreversible guarantees cannot be obtained merely by Executive 
action. Something more is needed. No President can safely say, 
" The State — it is I." He is only a part of the State, and, on this 
account, there is a new motive to reserve. What he does is subject to 
the correction of Congress, and therefore cannot be final. 

(3.) Irreversible guarantees cannot be obtained hy yielding to the 
'prejudice of color, and insisting upon a sejjaration of the races. A 
voice from the West — God save the West! — revives the exploded 
theory of colonization, partly to divert attention from the great question 
of Equal Rights. To that voice I reply, first, you ought not to do it, 
and, secondly, you cannot do it. You ought not to do it, because, 
besides its intrinsic and fatal injustice, you will thus deprive the country 
of what it most needs, which is labor. Those freedmen on the spot are 
better even than mineral wealth. Each is a mine, out of whom riches 
can be drawn, provided you let him share the product. And through 
him that general industry will be established which is better than any 
thing but virtue, and is, indeed, a form of virtue. It is vain to say that 
this is the country of the " white man." It is the country of Man. 
Whoever disowns any member of the Human Family as Brother, dis- 
owns God as Father, and thus becomes impious as well as inhuman. 
It is the glory of Republican Institutions that they give practical form 
to this irresistible principle. If any body is to be sent away, let it be 
the guilty, and not the innocent. The expatriation of leading rebels will 
be a public good. As long as they continue here, they will resist the 
establishment of guarantees; but it is little short of madness to think of 
exiling loyal persons, whose strong arras ai"e needed, not only for the 
cultivation of the soil, but also for the protection of the government 
itself. 

(4.) Irreversible guarantees cannot be obtained by oaths. All oaths 
are uncertain. It has been said " the strongest oaths are straw." 
Political oaths have become a proverb, whether in England or France. 
They have been taken freely, and have been broken without hesitation. 
The Milanese, in reply to the Emperor Barbarossa, said, " You had our 
oath, but we never swore to keep it." Our rebels have been openly 
taught the same duplicity. They have been told authoritatively, that the 
oath was unconstitutional, and, therefore, not binding ; and so they take 
it easily. But who can find a guarantee in such a performance ? A 
Swedish priest lately poisoned the sacramental wine, and so these coun- 
sellors have poisoned this sacred obligation. But if an oath be taken, it 
must not stop with the support of the Proclamation of Emancipation. 
It must embrace all those other objects of guarantee, including especially 
the National freedmen and the National creditors. Each of these will 
be a test of loyalty. But at a moment like the present, at the close of a 
ferocious rebellion, when hatred and passion are only pent up and not 
extinguished, an oath is little better than a cotton thread to hold a frigate 
scourged by a north-wester. The Hollanders might as well undertake 
to swear each individual wave that beats upon their coasts. They did 



17 

better. They made dikes. " Gone to swear a peace," says Constance, 
most scornfully, as she denounced an oath of pretended reconciliation. 
And shall we be content merely when our rebels " swear a peace ? " 

(5.) Irreversible guarantees cannot be obtained by pardons. It is 
enough to state this proposition ; for all must see at once that rights will 
be very uncertain if they have no protection except in the gratitude of 
a pardoned rebel. A jail-delivery is not a guarantee. Such a break- 
water would be impotent against the malignant sea. Without accepting 
absolutely the dogma of Cardinal Mazarin, that men are governed more 
through hope than through gratitude, it is clear that, until security is 
won, we cannot afford to part with any influence or agency through 
which control may be established. Mercy is a beautiful prerogative, 
exercised always with inexpressible delight ; but on this account we 
must guard against its fascination, and not, in the generous luxury, 
imperil a whole community. This is very clear. A pardon is in form 
an act of grace, but in reality a letter of license. This is all. It leaves 
the criminal free to renew his crime, whether by force or guile. It has 
in it no single point of security. As well defend a citadel b}^ kisses or 
by flowers. 

Ways to Obtain Guarantees. 

Such are some of the modes to be rejected. And now, in the second 
place, consider the ways in which guarantees may be obtained. 

(1.) Time is necessary. There must be no precipitation. Time is the 
gentlest, but most powerful, revolutionist. Time is the surest retbrraer. 
Time is a peace-maker. Time is necessary to growth, and it is an ele- 
ment of change. For thirty years and more this wickedness was maturing. 
Who can say that the same time will not be needed now to mature the 
conditions of permanent peace ? Who can say that a generation must 
not elapse before these rebel communities have been so far changed as to 
become safe associates in a common government ? Plainly, this cannot 
be done at once. Wellington exclaimed at Waterloo, " Would that 
night or Blucher had come ! " Time alone was a substitute for a 
powerful ally. It was more through time than battle that La Vendee 
was changed into loyalty. Time, therefore, we must have. Through 
time all other guarantees may be obtained ; but time itself is a guarantee. 

(2.) Meanwhile we must follow Congress in the present exclusion of 
all rebels from •political power. They must not be voted for, and they 
must not vote. On this principle I take my stand. Let them buy and 
sell ; let them till the ground ; and may they be industrious and success- 
ful. These things they may do ; but they must not be admitted at once 
into the co-partnership of our government. As well might the respecta- 
ble Mr. Ketchum re-instate his son at once in the firm which he has 
betrayed, and invest him again with all the powers of a co-partner. 
The father received his son with pai'ental affection, and forgave him ; 
but he did not invite the criminal to resume his former desk in 
Wall Street. And yet Edward Ketchum, who had robbed and forged 
on an unprecedented scale, is as worthy of trust in the old banking-house 
as our rebels in the government of the country. A long [)r()bation will 
be needed before either can be admitted to his former fellowship. The 
state of outlawry is the present condition of each, and this condition 
must not be hastily relaxed. 



18 

Congress has already set the example by excluding from " any office 
of honor or profit under the government of the United States," and also 
by excluding as counsellor at law, from any court of the United States, 
every person who has given " aid or countenance " to the Rebellion, or 
who has " sought or accepted any office whatever " under it, or who has 
yielded to it any " voluntary support." By this act, (July 2d, 1862,) 
and the supplementary act, all rebels are debarred from holding office 
under the United States or from practising in the courts of the United 
States. This exclusion, thus sanctioned by Congress, must be the pole- 
star of our National policy. If rebels cannot he officers under our govern- 
ment, they ought not to he voters. They should be politically disfranchised, 
purely and simply as a measure of necessary precaution, and in order to 
prepare the way for those guarantees which we seek. "Vipers cannot use 
their venom in the cold." These are words of political wisdom as well as 
of scientific truth, and a great Italian writer did not hesitate to inculcate 
from them the same lesson that I do now. 

Surely recent rebels, who led in secession and held office under the 
Rebellion are poor engineers to rally these communities to the support 
of the National f Veedmen and the National creditors, and generally to the 
establishment of those guarantees which are essential to security. 
Reason and experience warn us to postpone our trust in any such per- 
sons. Overcome in battle, they wi'ap themselves in a mantle of loyalty, 
tied by an oath, 

" As they who, to be sure of Paradise, 
Dying, put on the weeds of Dominic, 
Or in Franciscan think to pass disguised." 

But character is not changed in a day, and that " Southern heart," 
which was "fired" against the Union, still preserves its vindictive vio- 
lence. Even if for a moment controlled, who can tell how long it will 
continue in this mood? There is an exquisite fable of La Fontaine, 
where a cat was transformed into a beautiful woman ; but on the night 
of her marriage, hearing the sound of a mouse on the floor, she sprang 
from the bed with all her original feline nature ; and so a rebel, trans- 
formed by political necromancy into a loyalist, will suddenly start in full 
cry to run down a National freedman or a National creditor. So strong 
is nature. Horace tells us : Drive it out with a pitch-fork and it will 
return. Therefore, 1 insist, do not put political trust in that man who 
has been engaged in warring upon his country. I do not ask his pun- 
ishment. I would not be harsh. There is nothing humane which I 
would reject. Nothing in hate. Nothing in vengeance. Nothing in 
passion. I am for gentleness. I am for a velvet glove ; but I wish the 
hand for awhile of iron. I confess that I have little sympathy with 
those hypocrites of magnanimity, whose appeal for the rebel master is 
only a barbarous indifference towards the slave ; and yet they cannot 
desire more than I do the day of reconciliation. To this end I am with 
them, so far as is consistent with security ; but I cannot see my country 
sacrificed to a false idea. Pardon if you will. Nobody shall outdo me 
in clemency. But do not trust the rebel politically. The words of Shak- 
speare do not picture too strongly the danger of any such attempt : — 



tliou might'st hold a serpent by the tongue, 

A skinless lion by the mortal paw, 

A fasting tiger by the tooth, 

As keep in peace that hand which thou dost hold." 



19 

(4.) In obtaining guarantees we must rely upon acts rather than 
professions, and light our footsteps by '• the lamp of experience." Tliere- 
fore we turn from recent rebels to constant loyalists. This is only ordi- 
nary prudence. As those who have fought against us should be dis- 
franchised, so those who have fought for us should be enfranchised, and 
thus a renovated state will be built secure on an unfaltering and natural 
loyalty. For awhile the freedman will take the place of the master, 
thus verifying the saying that the last shall be first and the first shall be 
last. In the pious books of the East it is declared, that the greatest 
mortification at the day of judgment will be when the faithful slave 
is carried to Paradise, and the wicked master is sent to hell ; and 
this same reversal of conditions appears in the gospel when Dives 
is exhibited as suffering the pains of damnation while the beggar of 
other days is sheltered in Abraham's bosom. Therefore, in organizing 
this change we follow divine justice. Surely nobody can doubt that 
Robert Small, the heroic slave, who carried a rebel steamer to our 
fleet and then became our pilot, deserves more of the Republic than a 
South Carolina otRcial, occupied at that very time as Commis- 
sioner to regulate impressments in the rebel army. To accept the 
latter and to reject the former will be not only the height of injustice, 
but the height of meanness. It will be a deed " to make heaven 
weep, all earth amazed." 

(5.) Still further, in obtaining guarantees we must look confidently 
to Congress, which has plenary powers over the whole subject. Con- 
gress can do everything needful. It has already begun by excluding 
rebels from office. It must continue its jurisdiction ; whether, through 
the War Powers, or the duty to guarantee a republican form of govern- 
ment, or the necessity of the case as in territories, is a matter of little 
importance. It is of less importance under which of its powers this is 
done, than that it is done. Continuing its jurisdiction. Congress must 
supervise and fix the conditions of order, so that the National Security 
and National Faith shall not suffer. Here is a sacred obligation which 
cannot be postponed. 

(6.) All these guarantees should be completed and crowned by an 
amendment of the Constitution of the United States, especially providing 
that hereafter there shall be no denial of the electoral franchise or any 
exclusion of any kind, on account of color or race, but all persons shall 
be equal before the law. At this moment, under a just interpretation 
of the Constitution, three-fourths of the States actually cooperating in the 
National government, are sufficient for this change. The words of the 
Constitution are that amendments shall be valid to all intents and pur- 
poses, " when ratified by three-fourths of the legislatures of the several 
States," or, according to practical sense, by three-fourths of the States that 
have legislatures. If a State has no legislature, it cannot be counted in 
determining this quorum, as it is not counted in determining the quorum 
of either House of Congress, where precisely the same question occurs. 
Any other interpretation recognizes the Rebellion and plays into its 
hands by conceding its power, through rebellious contrivance, to prevent 
an amendment of the Constitution, essential to the general welfare. 



20 

Appeal to the President and Cabinet. 

Such are practical points to be observed in obtaining the much-needed 
guarantees. Congress will soon be in session, and to its courageous 
conduct, in the exercise of unquestionable powers, we all look with hope 
and trust. Meanwhile the President, as commander-in-chief, has large 
military powers, which may be exercised without control until the meet- 
ing of Congress. To him I now appeal. Speaking from this platform 
— surrounded by this concourse of his friends — and giving voice to the 
sentiments of my heart, in harmony with the sentiments of Massachu- 
setts, I cannot fail in respect or honor, while I address him with that 
plainness which belongs to Republican Institutions. 

" Sir, your power is vast. A word from you may make an epoch. 
It may advance at once the cause of Universal Civilization, or it may 
quicken anew the Satanic energies of a fearful Barbarism. It may give 
assurance of security and reconciliation for the future, or it may scatter 
uncertainty and distrust, while it postpones that Truce of God, which is 
the longing of our hearts. As your power is vast, so is your responsi- 
bility. Act, we entreat you, so that our country may have no fresh sor- 
row. Do not hazard Emancipation, which is the day-star of our age, and 
the special jewel in the crown of your martyred predecessor, by any 
concession to its enemies. Do not put in jeopardy all that we hold most 
dear, by an untimely attempt to bring back into the copartnership of 
the National government, any of those ancient associates, who have 
warred upon their country. Let them wait. You have said that 
treason is " a crime," and not merely a difference of opinion. Do not 
let the criminals bear sway. The patriot dead cry out against such 
surrender, and all their wounds bleed afresh. Congress has already set 
the example, by declaring that no person engaged in the Rebellion shall 
hold office. For the present follow Congress. Follow the Constitu- 
tion also, which knows no distinction of color, and do not sacriice a 
whole race by resuscitating an offensive Black Code, inconsistent with the 
National Security and the National Faith. There also is the Declaration 
of Independence, which now shines like the sun in the Heavens, rejoic- 
ing to penetrate every bye-way and every cabin, if you will not stand in 
its light. Let it shine — until the Republic has completely conquered that 
disgusting pretension, which is at once a stupendous monopoly and an 
impious Caste. Above all, do not take from the loyal lilack man and 
give to the disloyal white man ; do not confiscate the political rights of 
the freedman, who has shed his blood for us, and lavish them upon his 
rebel master. And remember that justice to the colored race is the 
sheet-anchor of the national credit." 

Speaking always with the same frankness, I ask leave to say briefly 
to the Secretary of War : — 

" Sir,- there is room still for your energies. That region, which has 
been won to Union and Liberty by the victory which you organized, 
must not be allowed to lapse under its aicient masters, the perjured 
asserters of property in man. It must not be abandoned. Let it be 
held by arms, until it smiles with the charities of life and all its people 
are guarded by an impenetrable shield." 

And still speaking with the same frankness, I ask leave to press one 
controlling consideration upon the Secretary of the Treasury: — 

" Sir, you are the guardian of the national finances. Use the pecu- 



21 

liar influence which belonfrs to this position, so that nothing sliall be 
done to impair the national credit. See to it especially that no pt^rson 
in any rebel community is admitted to political power who spurns 
the National Faith, sacredly plighted to the national freedman as well 
as to the national creditor. Such is the ordinance of Providence, that 
the fortunes of the two are joined inseparably together. Credit is 
sensitive. It needs that all the resources of the country should be 
brought into activity — that agriculture should be fostered — that com- 
merce should be revived — that emigration sliould be encouraged ; but 
this cannot be done without that security which is found in equal laws 
and a contented peo])le. The farmer, the merchant, the emigrant, must 
each feel secure. Land, capital and labor are of little value, except 
on this essential condition. ■ The loyal jjeople, who have contributed so 
much, and now hold your bonds, trust that this essential condition will 
not fail through any failure on your part, and that you will not consent 
to open a political volcano, spouting with smoke and red-hot lava, in an 
extended region whose first necessity is peace. There is an order in 
all things, and any concession to the criminal enemies of our country, 
until after the confirmation of the National Security and the National 
Faith, is simply an illustration on a gigantic scale of the cart before 
the horse." 

For myself, fellow-citizens, pardon me if I say that my course is fixed. 
Others may hesitate ; others may turn away from those great truths, 
which make the far-reaching brightness of the Republic ; others may 
seek a temporary favor by a temporary surrender. I shall not. The 
victory of blood, which has been so painfully won, must be confirmed by 
a greater victory of ideas, so that the renowned words of Abraham 
Lincoln may be fulfilled, and " this Nation under God shall have a new 
birth of Freedom, and government of the people, by the people, and for 
the people, shall not perish from the earth." To this end I seek no 
merely formal Union, seething with smothered curses, but a practical, 
moral, and political Unity, founded on common rights, knit together 
by common interests, inspired by a common faith, and throbbing with a 
common love of country, — where our Constitution, interpreted anew, 
shall be a covenant with life and a league with Heaven, — and Liberty 
shall be everywhere not only a riglit but a duty. John Brown, on his 
way to the scafibld, stooped to take up a slave child. That closing 
example was the legacy of the dying man to his country. That bene- 
diction we must contiflue and fulfih The last shall be first ; and so, in 
this new order, Equality, long postponed, shall become the master prin- 
ciple ,of our system and the very frontispiece of our Constitution. The 
Rebellion was to beat down this principle, by founding a government on 
the alleged " inferiority of a race." The attempt has failed, but not, 
alas ! the insolent assumption of the conspirators. Taking up the 
gauntlet I now insist, that this assumption shall be trampled out. A 
righteous government cannot be founded on any exclusion of race. 
This is not the first time that I have battled with the Barbarism of 
Slavery. I battle still, as the bloody monster retreats to its last citadel, 
and, God willing, I mean " to fight it out on this line, if it takes " what 
remains to me of life. 



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